Leviticus 21 - English Standard Version (ESV)

Holiness and the Priests

21 And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, (A)No one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people, 2 except for his closest relatives, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3 or his virgin sister (who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may make himself unclean). 4 He shall not make himself unclean as a husband among his people and so profane himself. 5 (B)They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body. 6 They shall be holy to their God and (C)not profane the name of their God. For they offer the Lord's food offerings, (D)the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy. 7 (E)They shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled, neither shall they marry a woman (F)divorced from her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. 8 You shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for (G)I, the Lord, who sanctify you, (H)am holy. 9 And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by whoring, profanes her father; (I)she shall be burned with fire.

10 (J)“The priest who is chief among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured and who has been consecrated to wear the garments, (K)shall not let the hair of his head hang loose nor tear his clothes. 11 He shall not (L)go in to any dead bodies nor make himself unclean, even for his father or for his mother. 12 (M)He shall not go out of the sanctuary, lest he (N)profane the sanctuary of his God, for the (O)consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him: I am the Lord. 13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity.[a] 14 A widow, (P)or a divorced woman, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute, these he shall not marry. But he shall take as his wife a virgin[b] of his own people, 15 that he may not profane his offspring among his people, for (Q)I am the Lord who sanctifies him.”

16 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying, None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may (R)approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man (S)blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face (T)or a limb too long, 19 or a man who has an injured foot or an injured hand, 20 or a hunchback or a dwarf or a man with a (U)defect in his sight or an itching disease or scabs or (V)crushed testicles. 21 No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a blemish shall come near to (W)offer the Lord's food offerings; since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. 22 He may eat the bread of his God, both of (X)the most holy and of the (Y)holy things, 23 but he shall not go through the veil or approach the altar, because he has a blemish, that he may not (Z)profane my sanctuaries,[c] (AA)for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.” 24 So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the people of Israel.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 21:13 Or a young wife
  2. Leviticus 21:14 Hebrew young woman
  3. Leviticus 21:23 Or my holy precincts

Cross references

  1. Leviticus 21:1 : Ezek. 44:25
  2. Leviticus 21:5 : Ezek. 44:20; [ch. 19:27, 28; Deut. 14:1]
  3. Leviticus 21:6 : See ch. 18:21
  4. Leviticus 21:6 : See ch. 3:11
  5. Leviticus 21:7 : ver. 13, 14; Ezek. 44:22
  6. Leviticus 21:7 : See Deut. 24:1-4
  7. Leviticus 21:8 : ch. 22:9, 16
  8. Leviticus 21:8 : See ch. 11:44
  9. Leviticus 21:9 : [Gen. 38:24]
  10. Leviticus 21:10 : ch. 8:12; 16:32; Ex. 29:29, 30; Num. 35:25
  11. Leviticus 21:10 : ch. 10:6
  12. Leviticus 21:11 : Num. 19:14; [ver. 1, 2]
  13. Leviticus 21:12 : ch. 10:7
  14. Leviticus 21:12 : ver. 23
  15. Leviticus 21:12 : [ch. 8:9, 12, 30]
  16. Leviticus 21:14 : ver. 7; Ezek. 44:22
  17. Leviticus 21:15 : [See ver. 8 above]; ch. 22:9, 16
  18. Leviticus 21:17 : ch. 10:3; [Num. 16:5; Ps. 65:4]
  19. Leviticus 21:18 : ch. 22:22
  20. Leviticus 21:18 : [ch. 22:23]
  21. Leviticus 21:20 : [See ver. 18 above]; ch. 22:22
  22. Leviticus 21:20 : [Deut. 23:1]
  23. Leviticus 21:21 : ver. 6
  24. Leviticus 21:22 : ch. 2:3, 10; 6:17, 25; 7:1; 10:12, 17; 14:13; 24:9; Num. 18:9
  25. Leviticus 21:22 : ch. 22:10, 12
  26. Leviticus 21:23 : ver. 12
  27. Leviticus 21:23 : ch. 22:9, 16

You Might Also Like:

Leviticus 21 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

21 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Speak unto the priests, sons of Aaron, and thou hast said unto them, For [any] person [a priest] is not defiled among his people, 2 except for his relation who [is] near unto him -- for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for h...
Read More

Leviticus 21 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

21 And the Lord said to Moses, Speak thou to [the] priests, the sons of Aaron, and thou shalt say to them, A priest be not defouled in the dead men of his citizens (A priest shall not be defiled with the dead among his fellow citizens), 2 no but only in his kinsmen, and nigh of blood, that is, on fa...
Read More

Leviticus 21 - World English Bible (WEB)

21 Yahweh said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, ‘A priest shall not defile himself for the dead among his people, 2 except for his relatives that are near to him: for his mother, for his father, for his son, for his daughter, for his brother, 3 and for his virgi...
Read More

Leviticus 21 - The Voice (VOICE)

21 The Eternal One addressed Moses.While it is not a sin to handle a corpse, it makes the person ritually impure.Eternal One: Go, talk to the priests, Aaron’s sons, and tell them that I don’t want any priest to make himself ritually impure by having contact with a dead person in Israel. 2 There is ...
Read More

Leviticus 21 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Parashat EmorHoliness Code for Kohanim21 Then Adonai said to Moses, “Speak to the kohanim, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: A kohen is not to allow himself to become unclean for the dead among his people, 2 except for his relatives that are nearest to him—his mother, his father, his son, his dau...
Read More

Leviticus 21 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

The Holiness of Priests21 And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them that none of them shall defile himself for the dead among his people, 2 except for his nearest of kin, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3 or his virgin sister ...
Read More

Leviticus 21 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

The Holiness of Priests21 And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them that none of them shall defile himself for the dead among his people, 2 except for his nearest of kin, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3 or his virgin sister ...
Read More

Leviticus 21 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

The Holiness of Priests21 The Lord said to Moses: Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them:No one shall defile himself for a dead person among his relatives, 2 except for his nearest kin: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother; 3 likewise, for a virgin sister, c...
Read More

Leviticus 21 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Holiness of Priests21 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them:“No one shall defile himself for a dead person among his relatives,(A)2 except for his nearest kin: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother; 3 likewise, for a virgin sister ...
Read More

Leviticus 21 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Instructions for the Priests21 The Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.“A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean by touching the dead body of a relative. 2 The only exceptions are his closest relatives—his mother or father, son or ...
Read More

Leviticus 21 - New Life Version (NLV)

How the Religious Leaders Should Live21 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the religious leaders, the sons of Aaron, ‘No one should make himself unclean for a dead person among his people, 2 except for his own family, his mother, father, son, daughter and brother, 3 or his young sister who is near to...
Read More

Leviticus 21 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Regulations for Conduct of Priests(A)21 And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: (B)‘None shall defile himself for the dead among his people, 2 except for his relatives who are nearest to him: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his broth...
Read More

Leviticus 21 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Rules for priests21 The Lord said to Moses, ‘Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: “A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean for any of his people who die, 2 except for a close relative, such as his mother or father, his son or daughter, his brother, 3 or an unmarrie...
Read More

Leviticus 21 - New International Version (NIV)

Rules for Priests21 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron,(A) and say to them: ‘A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean(B) for any of his people who die,(C) 2 except for a close relative, such as his mother or father,(D) his son or daughter, his brother, 3 or a...
Read More

Leviticus 21 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Rules for Priests21 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron. Tell them, ‘A priest must not make himself “unclean” by going near the dead body of any of his people. 2 But he can go near the body of a close relative. It could be his mother, father, son, daughter or brother. ...
Read More

Leviticus 21 - New English Translation (NET)

Rules for the Priests21 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the priests, the sons of Aaron—say to them: ‘For a dead person[a] no priest[b] is to defile himself among his people,[c] 2 except for his close relative who is near to him[d]—his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3 and h...
Read More